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Using the QuickTime VR Control with PowerPoint
by Geetesh Bajaj
PowerPoint And QuickTime
Is it true that PowerPoint does not work very well with QuickTime?
Probably its half-true - although PowerPoint on Windows does
suffer from QT-phobia, PowerPoint on the Mac can interact very
well with QuickTime. I already have a page onsite on the entire
PowerPoint - QuickTime connection, so for those who need some introductory
info, I'll recommend a visit there:
PowerPoint and QuickTime
This page looks at a new way to insert QuickTime (including QTVR)
content into PowerPoint. Before we look into that, let's examine
QTVR.
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QuickTime VR
QuickTime VR (or QTVR) stands for QuickTime Virtual Reality. The
technology belongs to Apple Computer, Inc., the same company that
creates the Apple Macintosh. In Apple's own words, QuickTime VR
is an award-winning photorealistic cross-platform virtual reality
technology that makes it possible to explore places as if you were
really there. QTVR is also referred to as Immersive Photography,
a term coined by by Ken Turkowski, one of the creators of this
technology.
You'll find more info on QTVR at:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtvr/
QTVR has been a great success - in fact, it is one of the standards
of picture panorama technologies. On the Windows platform, you
can view QuickTime movies and QTVR panoramas using the free QuickTime
Player and other QuickTime-aware applications (most of which use
Apple's QuickTime API)
QTVR panoramic movies are usually created by stitching sequential
digital or scanned pictures that rotate 360 degrees. Another variation
of the concept is cubic panoramas that can be created from
6 images (up / down / left / right / front / behind) or from two
or more fisheye images.
The QTVR page at Apple's site has more info on tools required
to create QTVRs as well as links to view and download QTVR samples.
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Other Panorama Technologies
QTVR is not the only panorama picture technology - its main rivals
are the proprietary IPIX format and other formats like iMove, Image
Worlds, Ulead VR and VRML.
Most panorama software can also save to still image panoramas
in JPEG format.
You can see a comparision of panorama technologies at the Panoguide
site.
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QTVR ActiveX Control
Let's now discuss the actual product we are reviewing on this
page.
The QTVR ActiveX Control is an ActiveX control that allows
you to insert QuickTime content like QuickTime MOV videos and QuickTime
VR panoramas and walkthroughs in most applications that can accept
ActiveX controls. Not surprisingly, PowerPoint does accept ActiveX
controls.
Since PowerPoint does not accept QuickTime content natively, the
QTVR ActiveX Control is a great solution for those who have a library
of QuickTime stuff. PowerPoint's presentation base makes it a natural
container to play such media.
The QTVR Control is created by George Birbilis - I wish
to thank him for helping me with this page. You'll find more info
about the QTVR ActiveX Control at George's website:
http://qt4all.onestop.net
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Download and Installation
You can download the QTVR ActiveX Control from George's website.
The download weighs under 600 kb.
Double-click the downloaded file to install the QTVR ActiveX Control.
The installation places an unregistered copy of the ActiveX control
that contains a nag screen whenever activated. The registered version
of the Control can be bought online at George's site for US$150
and does not contain the nag screen.
Before we use the QTVR ActiveX Control from within PowerPoint,
you'll have to make sure you have the QuickTime Player (actually
the QuickTime multimedia platform) installed. This is a free download
from the QuickTime site at:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime
The installation includes components like the QuickTime Player,
Image Viewer, application and web browser controls/plugins.
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QTVR and QuickTime Samples
If you don't have any QTVR or QuickTime movies, you can download
free samples from these sites - there are also a few links to sites
with tutorials:
QTVR is only one of the panorama formats - you can learn more
about creating your own panoramas at the excellent panoguide.com site.
The Gallery
page at panoguide.com has various panorama samples including
some in the QTVR format.
The Multimedia
Library has many impressive QTVR panoramas available for
free download.
The QuickTime section of Apple's site has tons of movie
trailers you can download - most of these are not QTVR files,
just simple MOV videos.
Pete
Black shows you how to create panoramas using free software.
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Inserting QTVR in PowerPoint
- Open or create a new PowerPoint presentation. Save it in the
same folder as your sample QTVR file.
- Choose View -> Toolbars -> Control Toolbox - this will
open the Control toolbar. This is how it looks in PowerPoint
2002. It may look different in your system.
- Near the bottom of this Control Toolbox, you'll find the 'More
Controls' icon, represented by a hammer.
- Click on this icon to reveal a drop down list of available
ActiveX controls.
- Click on the QTVRControlX option.
- Your cursor will change into a cross-hair - draw a rectangle
anywhere on screen - don't bother about the size and location
now - we'll take care of that later. If you are using an unregistered
version of the QTVR Control, you'll see a nag screen - press
OK and continue.
- Your rectangle will be invisible, since its only a placeholder
- however, if you did not click anywhere, you'll find it surrounded
by eight handles. If you accidentally click elsewhere on the
slide and cannot find the Control rectangle, press Tab to toggle
between all objects on the slide.
- Right-click anywhere inside the rectangle to reveal a fly-out
menu. Choose the Properties option.
- The QTVRControlX Properties dialog box opens.
- Navigate to the saved QTVR panorama file and select it - you
can also experiment with other settings as required.
- Press 'OK' to return to the presentation. Resize the QTVR
area as required. You can preview the actual QTVR and QuickTime
movies playing only in slideshow mode.
- Save your presentation. You're done!
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More Options and Info
George Birbilis has more info about other options on his site
including some VBA code you might find helpful.
Visit
the PowerPoint QTVR FAQ at his site...
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Disclaimer
This is just an experiment. No support can be provided for the
techniques listed here.
If you need any support for the QTVR ActiveX Control, you can
mail George Birbilis at birbilis@kagi.com.
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